Disney’s ‘Maleficient’ Scores Huge Weekend at the Box Office

It doesn’t seem like four years, but that’s how long it’s been since the last time you saw Angelina Jolie on the silver screen. After a long hiatus, Jolie is back and she may in fact be better than ever. The box office doesn’t lie. Walt Disney’s Maleficient, a darker re-imagining of the classic movie Sleeping Beauty that focuses on the conflicted villain, debuted over the weekend to the tune of $70 million, including $6.7 million on IMAX alone. The numbers weren’t record-breaking, but they certainly exceeded expectations set for the Disney film.

As for Jolie, this is easily her biggest opening weekend ever. Her biggest film opening prior to Maleficient was Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Wanted, which each opened to about $50 million. Critics have gone on record saying that a movie star of Jolie’s caliber and style put in this role is absolutely a perfect fit. They’ve gone on to say without Jolie, there was no way this film opens as well as it did. The $70 million domestic can be added to $100 million globally making the total $170 million worldwide.

If you have plans to go to the movies over the next week most are recommending seeing Maleficient. For those Disney-lovers, it’s not as violent and scary as the previews imply, however it’s a darker, more grim tale than what you’ve come to expect from Disney.